I have nothing but praise for Clarke Basement Systems' work on our homes' 2 crawlspaces. They came in July to complete an internal waterproofing job, and came back in September to work on the crawlspaces. It was not fun work, let me tell you. In some areas, due to ductwork and support beams, the height they had to work with was less than 3 feet high. We had mice in there last year, and it wasn't pretty. I was not going to work on the crawlspace at all and just seal it up as we were drywalling (I didn't know any better), but thankfully Claude told me the facts and we realized there was wood in there in contact with the soil: a prime environment for mold, and our ductwork (with open vents into the space) ran through there! Not healthy. We knew we had to do something, and when we discovered that mice had been in there, it was imperative that we deal with it before it got worse the next winter. I am so thankful that Claude was so knowledgeable and he was never pushy in any way, but wanted me to know what was going on so I could make an informed decision.
Rob, the foreman, was always cheerful even though the situation he was presented with was far less than ideal. The place was smelly, so low to the ground, and he had to go in there with a battery powered saw and take out all the wood. The opening he had to crawl through to get in was just the size of a window. A small one! The crew worked so hard, for several days, and did everything possible to ensure our crawlspace was transformed into a clean, healthy, dry, and neutral-smelling space. It was so bad when they started that my contractor, who was finishing another part of the basement at the time, had to leave for two days! When they finished, the window-openings were left open for a couple of days and you would not know it was the same space. It did not smell at all and was dry and clean. I cannot thank them enough for their HARD work, WONDERFUL attitude, and expertise. You guys are a 10/10! Thank you Claude, ROB, Mark, Noel, and the rest of the crew (different people came on different days).
- Approximate cost of services:
- $3,500.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Nothing. They are truly top of the line. From reception to the office (production management), to sales calls/estimates and the actual work being done, we have nothing but wonderful things to say about this company. We have used them twice and are confident about the quality of their work and products.
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Do it properly the first time! If the previous owners of our house constructed their crawlspace properly when they added the main floor addition, we would not have been in this situation! Spend the money to have it done RIGHT, and then no one will ever have to worry about it again! I did not know that crawlspace air quality mattered to the rest of the house, since I thought it was sealed off from the rest of the house, but I was wrong! Make sure you don't have organic materials (ie: wood) in contact with the ground or you WILL get mold. And you will breathe those mold spores in as the stack-effect draws crawlspace air into your house.